FILMS ABOUT WOMEN OPENING AND COMING TO STREAMING/VOD
Happiest Season – Directed by Clea DuVall; Written by Clea DuVall and Mary Holland
Hark! The Herald Drag Queens Sing: Clea DuVall’s “Happiest Season” has finally arrived. Eagerly anticipated since it was first announced, the gay rom-com sees Kristen Stewart and Mackenzie Davis as a lesbian couple celebrating the holidays. Abby (Stewart) is convinced that Harper (Davis) is her “person,” and she’s ready to take their relationship to the next level, so she’s planning to propose at her girlfriend’s annual Christmas dinner, where she’ll be meeting Harper’s family for the first time. There’s just one hitch: Shortly before arriving at her parents’ house, Harper tells Abby that her parents don’t know she’s gay — and they think that Abby, her platonic roommate, is coming to celebrate the holidays with them because she’s an orphan and has nowhere else to go. Though she’s understandably reluctant to celebrate Christmas in the closet, Abby is ultimately convinced to stick out the holidays with Harper’s promise that she’ll tell her family about their relationship before the visit is over. “Happiest Season” is a welcome — and necessary — addition to the holiday rom-com fold. It’s so refreshing to see a queer couple at the center of this type of story, and while the romance itself left me wanting more, scenes grappling with Harper’s reluctance to come out really shone. (Laura Berger)
“Happiest Season” is now available on Hulu.
Black Beauty – Written and Directed by Ashley Avis
“Black Beauty”
This modern day reimagining of Anna Sewell’s timeless classic follows Black Beauty (Kate Winslet), a wild horse born free in the American West. Rounded up and taken away from her family, Beauty is brought to Birtwick Stables, where she meets a spirited teenage girl, Jo Green (Mackenzie Foy). Beauty and Jo forge an unbreakable bond that carries Beauty through the different chapters, challenges, and adventures of her life.
“Black Beauty” will be available on Disney+ November 27.
Dance Dreams: Hot Chocolate Nutcracker (Documentary)
“Dance Dreams: Hot Chocolate Nutcracker”: Netflix
“Dance Dreams: Hot Chocolate Nutcracker” shines a light on the work of trailblazing icon Debbie Allen and her reimagining of the classic ballet performed annually by the gifted students of the Debbie Allen Dance Academy (DADA). Over the last 50 years, Allen’s incredible career has spanned the spectrum of the arts — from acting in, choreographing, and directing the iconic series “Fame”, to her prolific work directing, producing, choreographing, dancing, and writing for film, television, and theatre — garnering her Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe, and multiple Tony nominations in the process. “Dance Dreams: Hot Chocolate Nutcracker” features intimate interviews with Allen, her family, DADA’s world class dance instructors, and her inspirational students, and provides fascinating insights into Allen’s own personal journey pursuing an art form where she did not always see herself reflected in its imagery.
“Dance Dreams: Hot Chocolate Nutcracker” will be available on Netflix November 27.
Princess of the Row
“Princess of the Row”
Bouncing around the foster care system, Alicia Willis (Tayler Buck), a creative 12-year-old girl, ditches school to visit her military veteran father, Sergeant Beaumont “Bo” Willis (Edi Gathegi). After a battle-induced brain injury during his service in Iraq, Bo is now homeless and living in Los Angeles’ skid row while suffering from severe PTSD. When Alicia discovers that her next foster parent (Martin Sheen) is 10 hours away, she sets out on a mission to save her family. With Social Services in hot pursuit, she will stop at nothing to find a better life with the only family she knows: her dad.
“Princess of the Row” hits theaters and VOD November 27.
Disco – Written and Directed by Jorunn Myklebust Syversen
“Disco”: Jørgen Nordby/Mer Film
Nineteen-year-old Mirjam (Josefine Frida Pettersen) is a champion disco freestyle dancer and the stepdaughter of a charismatic evangelical pastor. As she starts to question her family and faith, she is lured by a highly conservative Christian sect.
Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with Jorunn Myklebust Syversen.
“Disco” will be available on VOD December 1.
Superintelligence
“Superintelligence”
When an all-powerful superintelligence (James Corden) chooses to study the most average person on Earth, Carol Peters (Melissa McCarthy), the fate of the world hangs in the balance. As the A.I. decides to enslave, save, or destroy humanity, it’s up to Carol to prove that people are worth saving.
“Superintelligence” will be available on HBO Max November 26.
The Call
Connected by phone in the same home but 20 years apart, a serial killer puts another woman’s past — and life — on the line to change her own fate.
“The Call” will be available on Netflix November 27.
Magnolia’s Hope (Documentary)
When three-year-old Magnolia Tesler was diagnosed with a rare disease, her parents didn’t know what to do. This intimate documentary follows the Tesler family as they spring into action in an effort to cure their daughter from a rare, debilitating disorder. An ordinary and healthy baby, she was crawling, talking, and hitting all her milestones. But around the age of two, she started developing mysterious symptoms: balance issues, hand wringing, speech loss, and rocking for hours in her crib. Her parents, AJ and Jenny, were desperate for answers. After taking Maggie to numerous specialists, they got a heartbreaking diagnosis: Rett Syndrome. Spanning eight years and told through home videos, vlogs, animation, and interviews, “Magnolia’s Hope” is a raw, first-hand account of a family struggling to cope with their child’s special needs through therapies, clinical trials, and everything in between.
“Magnolia’s Hope” will be available on Show&Tell December 1.
FILMS MADE BY WOMEN OPENING AND COMING TO STREAMING/VOD
Finding Agnes – Directed by Marla M. Ancheta; Written by Marla M. Ancheta and Aileen Kessop
On an emotional journey in Morocco, an entrepreneur pieces together the turbulent life of his estranged mother and meets her adopted daughter.
“Finding Agnes” will be available on Netflix November 30.
The Beast – Written by Claudia De Angelis, Nicola Ravera, Andrea Paris, and Ludovico Di Martino
To rescue his daughter, an unstable Special Forces veteran unleashes his inner beast as he pursues her kidnappers — and soon becomes a suspect himself.
“The Beast” will be available on Netflix November 27.
TV AND EPISODIC PREMIERES
Saved by the Bell – Created by Tracey Wigfield (Premieres November 25 on Peacock)
“Saved by the Bell”: Peacock/Casey Durkin
A follow-up series to the 1990s sitcom. Zack Morris (Mark-Paul Gosselaar) is the governor of California when he finds himself in hot water for closing too many low-income high schools. In an attempt to save himself from political ruin, he proposes sending the affected students to some of the highest performing schools in the state, including Bayside High.
Women of Worth (Awards Special) (Premieres November 25 on NBC)
NBC is teaming up with L’Oréal Paris to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the brand’s signature philanthropic program, Women of Worth, in a first-of-its-kind television special that spotlights the intrinsic worth of 10 women making an extraordinary difference in their communities.
The Flight Attendant (Premieres November 26 on HBO Max)
“The Flight Attendant”
Flight attendant Cassandra Bowden (Kaley Cuoco) wakes in her hotel room in Dubai, hungover from the night before and with a dead body lying next to her. Afraid to call the police, she continues her morning as if nothing happened, joining the other flight attendants and pilots traveling to the airport. In New York, she is met by FBI agents who question her about her recent layover in Dubai. Still unable to piece the night together, she begins to wonder if she could be the killer.
My Psychedelic Love Story (Documentary) (Premieres November 29 on Showtime)
An examination of the notorious high priest of LSD, Timothy Leary, through the eyes of his famed lover, Joanna Harcourt-Smith. “My Psychedelic Love Story” recounts the wild adventures of two seemingly innocent people on the run in an international saga of mystery and lust. But was Leary’s “perfect love” a CIA plant who helped take him down? Or was she simply a rich, beautiful young woman out for the adventure of a lifetime with the man Richard Nixon called “Public Enemy #1”?
Baby God (Documentary) – Directed by Hannah Olson (Premieres December 2 on HBO)
“Baby God”: HBO
“Baby God” is a shocking examination of the work of a Las Vegas fertility specialist, the late Dr. Quincy Fortier, and the many women he guided to pregnancy through the use of his own sperm without their knowledge or consent. The documentary follows several of his offspring as they grapple with new information about their origins, the scope of Fortier’s misdeeds, and the impact his genes have on how they view their own identities.
Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller (Docuseries) (Premieres December 2 on Nat Geo)
“Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller” is an original documentary series that explores the complex and dangerous inner-workings of the global underworld, black and informal markets. Each adventure follows Mariana on a mission to follow the chain of custody of trafficked goods, understand how to obtain the contraband, or see the 360-degree view of the trafficking world from the point of view of the smugglers, law enforcement, and those caught in the crossfire.
The Commons – Created by Shelley Birse (Premieres December 3 on Sundance Now)
Eadie (Joanne Froggatt) just wants a normal life, but the world around her won’t let her have it. A brilliant, 38-year-old neuropsychologist, Eadie longs to have a child with her vector biologist husband, Lloyd (David Lyons), but multiple unsuccessful IVF treatments have put her dreams of motherhood on hold. Meanwhile, the world around her is in chaos, as global warming and parasitic diseases have made the divide between rich and poor even greater.
My Gift: A Christmas Special from Carrie Underwood (Music Special) (Premieres December 3 on HBO Max)
HBO Max is spreading holiday cheer with the debut of Carrie Underwood’s new music special, “My Gift: A Christmas Special from Carrie Underwood.” In the Max Original, Underwood performs a combination of beloved traditional favorites celebrating the joy and hopefulness of the holiday, as well as new original material from her first ever full-length Christmas album, “My Gift,” which was released earlier this fall.
HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE WEEK
Green: Phelan Marc
Writer to Watch: Akilah Green of “A Black Lady Sketch Show”
Cinema Eye Honors Announces First Noms: “Hillary,” “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark,” and More
Loira Limbal, Ekwa Msangi, & Shalini Kantayya Among Sundance Institute’s 2021 Momentum Fellows
IDA Documentary Award Nominations: “Crip Camp,” “Time,” & More
“Preparations to Be Together” Named as Hungary’s Pick for Oscars’ International Film Category
“Nomadland” Takes Home Best Film Honor at EnergaCamerimage Film Festival
“La Madrina: The [Savage] Life of Lorine Padilla” Wins DOC NYC’s Audience Award
Dawn Porter Receives Mind the Gap’s Documentarian of the Year Award
The Disability List Announces 2020 Selections
Alfre Woodard Will Play Civil Rights Activist Fannie Lou Hamer in Limited Series
Radha Blank to Receive Sundance Institute’s 2020 Vanguard Award
Note: All descriptions are from press materials, unless otherwise noted.
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